Our Story

John, Lindsay and Dave - the JD Flannel team

John Miller – Owner

John was born in Orange County and grew up in Fullerton with his good friend Dave. Before building JD Flannel Donuts, John spent five years as an officer in the U.S. Army and nearly 20 years in the financial industry developing leadership, investment, and financial experience. One of his fondest traditions as a child was driving with his dad to the local donut shop on Sunday mornings and picking out two donuts (usually a jelly filled and maple bar!) to eat prior to going to church. John has three children, Andrew, Emily, and Luke, and has been married to his wife, Susie, for 23 years.

Dave Rhode – Owner

Dave is a native Californian and grew up in Orange County. Prior to his creation of and involvement in JD Flannel Donuts, Dave worked extensively in sales, marketing, customer service, and relationship management. He gets his love for coffee from his mom, being raised to enjoy a piping hot cup of black coffee on a hot summer afternoon! Dave is married to his wife, Kristen, and is a father to three children: Jake, Hannah, and Gracie.

The idea of JD Flannel came about while we were fly fishing in Montana on the Big Hole River in the summer of 2017. The waters of Montana are something special, and they always seem to provide a level of inspiration that is elusive in our daily routines. And there is no doubt that we, as friends, were both inspired on our fishing trip that year. They say friendship and business don’t mix, but our business was started precisely because of our near 40-year friendship and a calling to serve. John has always loved donuts and Dave can drink twenty cups of coffee a day, but our decision to start a donut and coffee shop simply had more to do with doing things differently. Most food today is all about being cheap, quick, and convenient, especially with donuts and coffee. We both had desire to go against the strong currents of convenience and embrace making our donuts from scratch and creating our own special blend of coffee. The word we like to use to describe our shop is “authentic”…we want our food to reflect the authenticity of the ingredients and baking processes. And we want the relationships we build with our employees and customers to be rooted in authenticity, which translates into a “come as you are” culture. Our journey so far has been unbelievable, and we are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve food products that we can fully stand behind!